During Juwan Howard’s NBA career, the 19-year veteran saw his fair share of stone-cold killers. From Kobe Bryant to LeBron James, Howard played both with and against the league’s best players.
Now in his third year coaching the Michigan men’s basketball team, Howard sees shades of two NBA legends in one of his freshmen: Caleb Houstan, a five-star wing from Canada.
“In how he approaches everything, he always has his one face,” Howard said Tuesday night. “I call it the Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan face. He never seems rattled, whether it’s going high for (him) or low.”
Howard’s comments came on the heels of Houstan’s 16-point performance in the Wolverines’ 83-64 thrashing of Maryland on Tuesday night. Houstan shot 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc, snapping a month-long cold spell that saw him miss 19 of 21 3-point attempts over a five-game stretch.
Against the Terps, Houstan’s success from deep unlocked the rest of Michigan’s offense. While he was slumping, opposing defenses were able to collapse on the Wolverines’ guards’ driving lanes and double team All-American center Hunter Dickinson. But when Maryland brought a double team on Dickinson during Michigan’s second possession, he threw a skip pass to a wide open Houstan at the other wing.
Houstan canned the 3-pointer, giving him the confidence he needed to prevent the Terps from helping off him.
“There’s nothing like, for any player when you’re out there competing, on the first play, when the ball hits your hands and your first shot goes in,” Howard said. “You feel a sigh of relief. You feel good about yourself. And you feel like it’s going to be a good night. But then, he made some really good plays, whether it’s driving to the basket for the and-one or shooting his shot when he felt something hit his hands, not thinking twice about it, the confidence is there.”
Houstan entered this season as a projected top-five pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. But after a rough patch, his projection has dipped to a borderline lottery selection. He hasn’t shot the ball well, nor has he shown much promise off the dribble. At the other end of the floor, there have been nights when he looks lost while defending one-on-one.
But even during Houstan’s struggles, his confidence never wavered.
“It’s crazy because he’s been the same,” DeVante’ Jones said. “Usually when a freshman is going through a slump, you’ll see their head down when they’re coming to the gym. But a guy like that, he’s in the gym consistently. Every day, he’s putting up shots. He’s practicing great. Lots of confidence.”
Houstan’s ability to keep his head up is a product of his own confidence and his support from within the Michigan program. On Monday, associate head coach Phil Martelli said a 9-for-9 game was coming from Houstan to balance out any 0-for-9 games.
Similarly, Houstan’s teammates were in his ear preaching positivity throughout his slump.
“Keep shooting. You’re probably the best shooter on the team,” Jones recalled telling Houstan. “We believe in you. We’re going to keep giving you the rock. Just keep showing confidence because we feel like you’re probably one of the best shooters in the country.’ We keep feeding him. When he’s open, he’ll knock it down.”
If Tuesday is any indication of what’s to come, Houstan turned a corner. But if he didn’t, that surrounding support won’t be going anywhere.
“He’s a freshman learning,” Jones said. “We don’t expect him to be so polished yet, but that’s a great player right there. I’m glad he’s my teammate because I’d hate to play against him. Great shooter. He’s going to just keep getting better with time.”
And if Houstan ultimately reaches his high ceiling, his killer instinct might just put him in the same conversation as Duncan and Leonard.
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